Furnace



July 14, 1925. 1,545,977

A. H. RICHARDSON FURNACE Filed Deo. l5. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l juy ML,E925.

4A. H. RICHARDSON FURNACE Filed Deo. l5. 1922 2 Sheets-SheetIll/1111111111 Patented July 14, 1925.

I UNITED-STATES PATENT ori-ica A AUGUSTUS HOWARD RICHARDSON, OF CHICAGO,ILLDOIS.

. Fumucn Application; mea December 15,1922. semi No. 607,041.

' To all whom t may concern: v

Be it known that I, AUGUSTUS HOWARD RICHARDSON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Chicago,in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inv bustionfor the purpose of bringing about complete oxidation it is necessarythat the supplemental air be heated to a temperature as high, as, orvery little below, the temperature of the partially oxidized gaseous andsolid products formed above the re bed. Otherwise the low temperature ofthe supplemental air will cool the partially oxidized gases and solidsin suspension therein, thereby diminishing the combustion that wouldtake place without the supplemental air supply.,

Various means have heretofore been resorted to for preheatingthesupplementalair supply, such means generally including the use ofpipes or ducts within the fire box through which pipes or ducts theincoming supplemental air, or mixture of air and steam is conductedbefore being delivered into the body of partially oxidized gases andSuspended carbon. While pipes and conduits, if properly arranged withinthe fire box, are subjected to a high temperature and are thereforeeii'ective to impart a high degree of temperature to air passing throughthem, they present considerable resistance to the passage of an aircurrent and are notl conducive to the eifective distribution of theincoming Supplemental air throughout and in thorough admixture with theproducts of partial combustion within the iire box or combustionchamber. Furthermore, such pipes and conduits within the re box involveconsiderable complication of structure which is subject to deterioraition and derangement by. reason of the high temperature. f

It is one of the principal pu oses, of my heated supplemental airthroughout the par; tial'ly oxidized products ofI combustion with`invention to thoroughly distri ute highly` out the employment 'of anyair pipes or conduits within the fire box. Broadly stated. I effect thispurpose by admitting the supplemental air directly to the fire boxthrough openings in the sidewalls thereof immediately in front of adepending curtain at the back of the fire box, and providemeans forlspreading the incoming A.supplemental air over the highly heated firebrick front face of the curtain immediately upon the en- 'trance of the`supplemental air, and before its admixture with the partially oxidizedgases and suspended solids within the tire box. The gases then passbeneath the lower edge of the curtain to the combustion cham-- berbehind the curtain and thence to the iiues. Preferably I also providemeans-for l partiallypreheating the supplemental air by conducting itthroughv conduits outside of lthe fire box but in proximity to heatedparts of the furnace, such as the walls of the ash pit and of one ormore of the water sections, before delivering the same to the interiorof the fire box as above described.

In the drawings Fig. is aperspective view of a. furnace embodying myinvent-ion, some of the structure being broken away to better exhibitthe remainder Fig. 2Yis an elevation view ofthe bridge.

or curtain section;

Fig. 3 is an elevation view of .the section which is provided withadmission ports for thesupplemental air, and in this view there alsoappear parts of the external air conduits; 4

Fig. 4 is a view, partly in section, on the plane indicated by linee, 4of Fig. 6, show-- ing part of the Water section illustrated in Fig. 3;

gig. 5 is a section on line 5, 5 of Fig. 2. an 1 Fig. 6 is a section online 6, 6 of Fig. il

The hot water heating furnace in which l have illustrated my inventioncomprises a plurality of water sections designated 1 to 12, inclusive,the number' of sections varying according to the size of the furnace.The

general outline ofy the water sections is;`

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` shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Figs. 2 and 3 show features `peculiar to myinvention but do not depart otherwise from the forni of the other watersections.. The top and sides of the fire box and combustion chamber areenclosed by the arched tops and depending legs of the Water sections,the water spaces within the several water sections being connected asusual by connnunicating openings. As usual, also, the gases passing to'the rear of the furnace rise through suitable ducts and pass forward tothe front of the furnace through the fines formed by the openings 13 inthe water sections, and thence back to the smoke box at the rear throughthe filles formed by thc openings 14. 15 in the water sections. Thesefeatures of construction and operation are old and widely used. Inapplying my invention all of the water sections may be of formsheretofore used with the exception of those designated bv the numerals 9and 10.

The curtain or bridge section. designated b v the numeral 10. isseparatehv shown in Figs. 2 and 5. The curtain or bridge 24 in thefurnace illustrated is shown as extending 'downward from the roof archof the fire box about half-way to the gratefthe lower edge of thecurtain being at a. height sufficient to permit passage of thc productsof combustion through the space between the lower edge of the curtainand the fire bed, as indicated in Fig. 1. The curtain forms the rearwall of the lire box and restricts communication between the fire boxand combustion chamber'to the relativelynarrow space between the firebed and lower edge of the curtain. The part of the curtain sectionextending below the line 25, which defines the roof arch of the firebox. is recessed in its forward surface at 26, as

' shown'most clearly in' section in Fig. 5, the

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outline of the recessed panel being also designated by the numeral 26 inFig. 2. The recessed panel 26 is filled with refractory material. In thepresent instance I have shown four fire bricks 27. leaving a marv ginalspace 40 which may be filled with fire clay. The water space 28 extendsto the lower edge of the curtain, being thinner opposite the recessedpanel owing to the space occupied by the latter.

The water section designated b v the nllmeral 9 isl immediately in frontof the bridge or curtain section 10 and is provided with air admissionports 18, 18, preferably located at the upper ends of the dependingwater legs liust beneath the roof formed by the arched centers of thewater sections, and air deflectors 22 are also formed integrally withwater section`9 and project inwardly and rearwardly from the forwardsides ofthe air ports 18.' These defiectors preferably extend across theangles between thev central areh and depending water legs,

as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. As shown in Fig. 6, the water spaces l2()extend through the water legs 19 at each side of the air ports 18 andalso extend throughout the interior of the deflectors 22. The inner partof each of the dcflectors 22 is formed with a rearward curvature, asindicated at 23, which curvature or any equivalent rearward inclinationof' the defiectors, serves to give a rearward direction to the aircurrents entering through the admission ports 18, thereby deflecting thesupplemental air supply against. the face of the curtain or brid e 24-above described. Extending upward y along the outer sides of the legs19 of the air port section 9 from the lower ends thereof to the airports 18 are air ducts 21. shown in the structure illustrated as anintegral part ofthe air port. section. Extending along the sides of theash pit from the front of the furnace to the lower ends of the ducts 21are ducts 29, through openings in the forward ends of which air is drawnin by the furnace draft, and passing through ducts 29 and 21, enters thefire box through ports 18 and is then directed against and across theheated face of the forward side of curtain 24. Dampers 30 may beprovided to regulate the volume of supplemental air.

Several of the water sections immediately forward of the air portsection 9, and the section at the extreme front of the furnace, aresimilar in external outline to the air port section with the exception,ofcourse, of the omission of the deiectors and air inlet ducts. In thefurnace illustrated the sections'similar in external contour to the airport section are those designated by the numerals 1. 6, 7 and 8. Thewater sections designated by the numerals 2. 3, 4 and 5 are providedwith narrowed depending` parts a e 4 and 5', respectively, which reducethe effective height of the fore part of the fire box. while the higherarch formed by sect-ions 6, 7 and 8 affords the necessary space for thevolume of gases at the rear of the fire box. The water sectiondesignated 11, immediately behind the water curtain, of which there maybe one or more according to the size of the furnace, may be of the sameform as sections 1 and 6 to 8, and the section designated 12 is formedwith a continuous web which closes, and forms the back wall of, thefurnace.

As stated in the introductory part of this specification, it isnecessary that the supplev provide the refractory facing of brick vorother material upon the forward side of the depending curtain, as abovedescribed. This refractory material, being a poor conductor of heat,acquires a very high temperature from the products of combustion whichsweep against it and pass along its face tov the space beneath the loweredge of the curtain. The deflectors 22 direct the supplemental airentering through ports 18 agamst and spread it in ai sheet over therefractory material which forms the face of the curtain. The incomingsupplemental air, therefore, contacts with the highly heated curtainbefore, or simultaneously with its first contact with the partiallyoxidized products inthe fire box, and the preheating of the`supp-lemental air so effected before its' admixture with the partially'oxidized products results in producing complete combustion and theelimination of smoke.

It is obvious that my invention is not confined to the particular typeof furnace here-V in described,

I claim as my lnvention: 1. In a fireox, a curtaln forming the .rearwall thereof and extending downward from the top thereof to direct theflow of the products of combustion beneath the lower edge of saidcurtain, and means for admitting air into said fire-box and causing saidair to impinge against the forward side of said curtain before admixturethereof with the productsy of combustion in said fire-box.

2. In a fire-box, a curtain forming the rear wall thereof and extendingdownward from the top thereof to direct the How of the products ofcombustion beneath the,

lower edge of said curtain. and means for admitting air into saidfire-bornand causing said air to impinge against the upper part of theforward side of said curtain before admixture thereof with the productsof combustion in said fire-box.

P). In a lire-box, a curtain forming the rear wall thereof and extendingdownward from the top thereof to direct the fiow of the .products ofcombustion beneath the lower edge o f said curtain, the side walls ofsaid fire-boxbeing provided with air inlet openings forward of andadjacent t0 said curtain, and deflectors extending inwardly andrearwardly from the forward sides ofsaid inlet openings to direct theHow of air against the forward side of said ,l curtain.

. 4. In a furnace, a fire-box, a curtain forming the rear wall of saidfre-box-and extending downward from the top thereof .to

tion beneath the lower edge of said curtain,

air inlet conduits extending along the sides of said furnace andcommunicating with said fire-box adjacent to and forward of the forward-side of said curtain, and means within said fire-box for directing theflow of air from said conduits against the forward side of saidcurtain...

5. In a hot water heating furnace, a firebox, a plurality of watersections inclosing the sides and top of said fire-box, the rear wall ofsaid fire-box consisting of a depending curtain forming ya part of oneof said water sections and having a water space therein, one of thewater sections forward of said curtain having air inlet openingstherethrough, a facing of refractory material on the forward side ofsaid curtain, and deiecting means to 4direct the air from said inletopenings against said facing of refractory material.

box, a plurality of water sections inclosing the sides and to of saidfire-box, the rear wall of said fireox consisting of a depending curtainforming a part of' one of said water section s and having a Vwater spacetherein, one of the water sections forward of said curtain having airinlet openings therethrough, defiectors projecting inwardly from theforward sides of said air inlet openings, said deflectors forming art ofsaid last named, section and containing a water space continuous withthe water space thereof.

7. In a fire-box, a curtain forming the rear wall thereof and.extendingxdownward from the top thereof to direct the flow of theproducts of combustion beneath the lower edge of said curtain, the sidewalls of said tire-box being provided with air inlet openings forward ofand adjacent to said curtain, and deflectors extending inwardly from theforward sides lof said inlet openings to direct the flow of air againstthe forward side of said curtain.

8. In a 'fire-box, a curtain forming the rear wall thereof and extendingdownward from the top thereof to direct the flow of the products ofcombustion beneath the lower edge of said curtain, the side walls ofsaid fire-box being provided with air inlet openings forward of andadjacent to said curtain, and deflectors to direct the .flow of airagainst the forward side of said curtain.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribev my name this 13th day` ofDecember, A. D.,

